Dusk Ablaze
by Fae Starfire
Summary: War. A war that would change history. All because a baby boy survived. Link, hero chosen by the goddesses, embarks on a journey that would save Hyrule.   I suck at summaries. First fanfic! Malon/Link pairing, eventually rated M.


Dusk Ablaze

I do not own any of the Legend of Zelda characters, locations or elements, all rights belong to Nintendo. I do however; own parts of the storyline and characters of my own making.

When did it come to this? 'War was coming', he had told her. Soon enough, monsters filled the once peaceful land of Hyrule, yes, today was that day. He said he would be okay, that he would survive. Yet, here she was, leaving those memories of once carefree days behind her, he was gone. She didn't have a choice; she knew she had to save the one thing that meant anything to her anymore.

She was panting, running away from the chaos behind her. Everything was on fire. Shouting, screaming and crying were soon becoming muffled by the rain as she made her way over a hill close to her village. Her face was covered in soot, there wasn't much time left, she was losing too much blood. The muffled cries of the baby boy in her arms were the only thing keeping her moving. She was almost there, almost somewhere safe. She couldn't hear the screams anymore; the sound of her own quickened heartbeat was filling her ears with erratic pounding. The draw-bridge would be closed soon, it was nearly nightfall. A guard was standing watch near the entrance to the town market.

"MY BABY, PLEASE, MY BABY!" She was screaming, but she couldn't hear herself. Tears and rain were coating her dress as she continued to run toward the guard. She tripped at his feet, landing in a sitting position.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" He called down to her, the rain was falling harder. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Please take him….I c-can't….."

Blackness was filling her vision now, the cold crept up on her out of nowhere, causing her to start shivering violently. It would be over soon.

A large booming sound lifted the guards gaze from her pleading eyes to where she had come from, he was dumbfounded. Smoke was rising from Kakariko, an orange tint mixing with the blue sky of dusk.

"CAPTAIN! CAPTAIN! SOUND THE ALARM!" The guard picked up the baby from the woman's grasp only to feel her hand grasp tightly around his wrist. "Pl-please, take c-care of h-him." She cupped the top of her baby's head with one hand, muffling a cry under her breath, "O-oh L-Link, m-mommy loves y-you…" She fell backwards onto the stone floor, looking up into the sky for a brief moment, before closing her eyes for the last time.

It had been 2 weeks since the attack. Many had died, but the forces were driven back, for now. The guard had taken in the baby for safe keeping until things had glimpsed a bit of light, it had been dark these past days.

He made his way to Impa's office inside Hyrule Castle along with two guards as escorts; she was of high standing with the royal family after all. Since the birth of the princess, she had had a lot on her plate, especially with the outbreak of the war.

The guard entered her office quietly, along with his escorts. Impa was sitting at her desk, she did not look up. Her hair was white, apart from her somewhat young face, and was in a tight bun at the back of her head. Her long purple robes hid her muscular form well. Her fierce red eyes were scanning over some kind of document on her desk.

"General Leoni Loyahl would like to have an audience with you, is this accepted?" A guard inside her chambers whispered to Impa hastily. "Make it quick." Impa stated, flipping through papers on her vast desk.

Leoni cleared his throat before speaking, bowing slightly, "A baby was found with his mother the night of the attack, I spoke with her briefly before she passed. She said his name was Link…."

"Yes alright, get on with it!" Impa spat, clearly under stress.

"He has a mark…." The guard said simply.

Impa laughed, cutting him off yet again, "You decided to interrupt my busy day to tell me this orphan baby has a mark? What is wrong with you? I don't have time for this, get out of my sight." She shooed him away with her hand, picking up her paperwork and continuing to read.

The guard looked down at his feet, then back up at her desk, a glint of anger in his eyes. "It's on his left hand."

Impa dropped the paper she was holding suddenly and stood up, staring at him. "What?" She said, not believing his words. He stood tall in front of her, his face blank, nodding once. "Bring him to me." She stated.

Impa's arms held the small sleeping Link while Leoni and Impa discussed every detail of that night. He indeed had the mark Leoni had described. The triforce of courage glowed brightly on his tiny left hand.

"She said she came from Kakariko….she didn't tell me her name, only his." Leoni paced Impa's chambers, the crackling of the fire behind him breaking the silence.

Impa sat pondering their discussion, looking for answers. What would they do?

Zelda was born with a mark on her hand as well, the triforce of wisdom. If the two of them got into the wrong hands, Hyrule could be destroyed. There was only one thing to do, they had to be separated.

"He cannot stay here." She whispered abruptly, looking down at the sleeping baby.

"But where will you take him?" Leoni asked, concerned.

Impa ignored him, turning to her personal guard at her door. "Ready my horse."


End file.
